For the remainder of 2017, Scott is on a one man mission to watch every movie on BBC’s list of the Top Films of the 21st Century. Click here to follow along with his journey.

Film: Requiem for a Dream
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Release Year: 2000
Country of Origin: United States
Seen Previously: Yes
Where You Can See It: Netflix

I hate Jared Leto

I know that that statement seems a bit hyperbolic, but the actor’s behavior has become insufferable over the last few years. Sure, he was pretty good in Dallas Buyers Club, but he was also really pretentious and annoying. Also, 30 Seconds to Mars sucks. Everything came to a head last year with the reports of all the weird shit he did while playing the Joker (badly) in DC’s (terrible) Suicide Squad. It’s gotten to the point where I’m really not interested in seeing another performance from the guy. This fall, Blade Runner 2049 is set to release. A follow-up to one of the most popular science fiction films ever, with Harrison Ford returning, Ryan Gosling set to star, and Arrival’s Denis Villeneuve in the director’s chair. I should be very excited about this film. And yet…Jared Leto is in it. Watch as my anticipation flees as quickly as Leto’s costars did as soon as production wrapped.

All this to be said, I was curious to revisit a film I hadn’t seen in over a decade; A film I adored back in the 2000s, but also just happens to star a man that I now irrationally despise. Would Requiem for a Dream hold up?

Absolutely.

Aronofsky’s tale of four Brooklyn residents succumbing to drug addiction is mostly remembered for that time its score was used in an incredible Lord of the Rings trailer (and subsequently millions of “super edgy” YouTube videos), but it’s adored among cinephiles mostly for its outlandish style. The film uses various tricks including super fast consecutive cutting, extreme close-ups, SnorriCam, split screen, fisheye lenses, and just about every other weird camera move you can think of. I’ve seen some critics refer to this as just style over substance, but in Requiem for a Dream the style is the substance. Never have I seen a film that so effectively transports the viewers into the mind of a drug addict. Aronofsky’s camera moves with intelligence and purpose. When our characters shoot up, the camera’s erratic movements halt. It glides, the cuts lessen, and we and the characters are at peace. But it’s only ever temporary. As the film moves on, and our characters descend into desperation and the effects of addiction, their drugs betray them; and the camera follows suit. Cuts become more frantic, scenes shorter, movements jerkier. Everything builds to a visible cacophony that threatens to overwhelm the viewer. This is addiction made visual. It is truly spectacular filmmaking.

This visual style is what I remembered when I thought about Requiem, but I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded just how good the performances are. Marlon Wayans is perfect as the perpetually in the wrong place at the wrong time Tyrone Love. Jennifer Connelly’s Marion is haunting. Connelly plays the character as so in control and reserved, that when the depths of her addiction are revealed in a truly disturbing scene that originally landed the film an NC-17 rating, the impact is that much more shocking. But the clear MVP here is Ellen Burstyn as Sara Goldfarb.

Aronofsky has said multiple times that he didn’t set out to make a movie specifically about drugs, rather he wanted to tell a story about the shared nature of addiction; Sara Goldfarb is the best example of that universality. The lonely widow appears to be addicted to many things. Food: absolutely, television: her junkie son says so, right before enabling her with a brand new shiny TV set, and eventually, yes, her weight loss amphetamines as well. But Sara Goldfarb’s true addiction is the simple desire to be liked and appreciated. To rise above her small, meager existence and be someone that people love and admire. Burstyn’s frantic performance captures just how strong this universal pull to be loved can actually be. It gets right to the universal truth of the film: Yes, drugs can be powerfully destructive agents. But they only serve as a catalyst to our own internal addictions. For Sara Goldfarb, that innate desire is as strong as any drug.

And then, of course,  there’s Jared Leto. I’d be lying if I said that every time I saw Leto’s Frank Goldfarb on screen I didn’t whisper to myself, “used condoms!? You freaking weirdo,” but Leto’s presence was less distracting than I thought it would be. I was able to look past the actor and see the character underneath: a smart, driven man that just couldn’t get out of his own damn way. That’s right, Requiem for a Dream is good enough to make me forget my hatred of Jared Leto.  That’s something.

Scott’s Updated List
As we go through each film on the list, I’m going to re-rank them based on my own personal enjoyment.

It’s the first time I’ve had to actually make a decision and it’s already really difficult. I can see why both of these two movies tied for the #100 slot as I think I like them just about equally. But if I’m forced to make a decision…I think Requiem slightly edges out Toni.

2) Toni Erdmann
1) Requiem for a Dream

Up next is Carlos, a 6 hour French film written and directed by Olivier Assayas!